Peruvian journalist shot after reporting on corruption

Bogota, Colombia, February 6, 2013--A provincial radio
journalist in southern Peru who has reported on local government corruption was
shot in the leg while riding his motorcycle to work today, according to local press
reports and the regional press group Instituto Prensa y Sociedad (IPYS).

Juan Carlos Yaya Salcedo, 35, who hosts the hour-long "Sin
Escape" (Without Escape) news program on Radio Max, told CPJ that he saw a
blue car pull up behind him as he drove to the radio station in the town of
Imperial, located about 85 miles (138 kilometers) southeast of Lima. Yaya heard
two shots and was hit in the left thigh by a bullet that also damaged the gas
tank of his motorcycle. The car sped away.
Police officers took the injured Yaya to a clinic in Imperial.

Speaking from the clinic, the reporter told CPJ that he
expects to fully recover and return to work soon. Relatives have filed a
criminal complaint with the police.

Yaya, who has worked as a journalist for 12 years, said he has
never received any threats. He speculated that the attack could be related to
his recent reporting on the shoddy construction of a communal building and a
public swimming pool in the nearby town of Nuevo Imperial.

According to news reports, the police also suspect that the
shooting was related to Yaya's work as a journalist because the assailants did
not try to steal anything. "My
safety and the safety of my family are in danger," Yaya said. "But I am going
to keep working here as a journalist."

"The attack on Juan Carlos Yaya Salcedo illustrates the
dangers facing provincial journalists in Peru and underlines the need for
authorities to act decisively in enforcing the law," said Carlos Lauría, CPJ's
senior Americas program coordinator, from New York. "Authorities must conduct a
thorough investigation that identifies the perpetrators and brings them to
justice."

Provincial journalists reporting on government corruption
have been repeatedly targeted in Peru, CPJ
research shows. In 2011, one journalist was murdered
in reprisal for his work, while two others were killed under unclear
circumstances.